


Just Stay This Little

by Adelina_Ophelia



Series: Ranvanni Baby [2]
Category: Strictly Come Dancing RPF
Genre: All the angst now apparently, Angst, Apparently I like to cause myself pain as well, F/M, Gio being the boyfriend he really is, Gio being ‘bad’ with kids, I missed writing these two with kids so, I'm Sorry, Lots more fluff now because we're all sad, but also very fluffy, have fun with that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:40:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29269662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adelina_Ophelia/pseuds/Adelina_Ophelia
Summary: Follow-up to Never Grow Up
Relationships: Giovanni Pernice/Ranvir Singh
Series: Ranvanni Baby [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149527
Comments: 89
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

Giovanni was startled awake by what he suspected was a miniature version of him and Ranvir smacking his arm. He sighed softly; this was another thing Mariella had recently discovered and something Ranvir was actively trying to stop her doing. He found it kind of adorable but he knew that Ranvir would tell him off as well if he didn’t correct her.

“Butterfly you know you’re not supposed to hit,” he chastised gently, opening his eyes and being greeted by a very close baby. 

Ella pouted at him before giggling and clapping. Giovanni sat up, after removing the baby from his chest, and placed her on his lap instead. He smiled softly down at the still slightly sleep hazed baby girl who was now grabbing at the blanket. Reaching for his phone with one arm while keeping one wrapped lightly around Mariella, who had become rather prone to crawling dangerously close to the edge of the bed, he found that Ranvir had text him ten minutes ago to let him know that she’d left Mariella asleep next to him and she’d been fed about an hour ago. Noting the time, Giovanni knew she’d just gone to drop Tushaan at school and should be back soon. Ella’s loud babbles prevented him from replying. 

“What is it? Are you hungry? Or do you want to go play downstairs while daddy makes mummy some coffee for when she gets home?”

“Dada!”

Giovanni laughed and kissed her head, “Coffee it is then?”

Giovanni pulled on a t-shirt and picked Mariella up who was still dressed in her Winnie the Pooh pajamas. Walking downstairs with her on his hip, Giovanni’s mind drifted back to the origin of this particular outfit. Ranvir had already banned Giovanni and Tushaan from buying anything else for the still unborn child; in hindsight they had been slightly overboard. But then Janette had turned up with two full bags of baby clothes, everything from newborn until around the age of one. Ranvir had rolled her eyes but smiled anyway as Aljaz emerged looking rather sheepish from the car, finally admitting to being a more than willing participant in the obsessive shopping spree. This one had won Ranvir over immediately, however. The little trousers had images of Pooh Bear with a red balloon all over but it was the hooded top that all but killed her; the top was red, matching the top Pooh Bear wore himself, but the hood was yellow and had ears. Though Ranvir would never admit to it, she had squealed when she’d seen it.

Giovanni placed Mariella in her highchair and began making her a small bowl of cereal; Ella had been eating solids for a few months now and was pretty much only having a bottle in a morning when she first woke, before and after her naptimes and before bedtime. Putting a towel on the floor in preparation for the mess that would inevitable get made and tying a bib around Ella’s neck, Giovanni began attempting to get Mariella to eat. Daddy’s little girl she may be but she would not eat cereal for him. Instead, she dropped her hand into the bowl and giggled as the milk splashed everywhere and her little hand got covered in mushy cereal.

“Oh, Butterfly,” Giovanni sighed, pretending to be exasperated with her, hoping maybe it would make her feel bad.

“You can’t guilt trip a baby, darling.”

Ranvir’s amused voice floated from the doorway behind him. He turned to face her as she walked over to him and pressed kisses to both his and Ella’s head.

“Not eating for daddy again, huh?” Ranvir questioned the smiling baby.

“MAMA!” Mariella’s excited voice came as a reply.

“Mama wants a shower, sweetheart, so you have to eat for daddy,” Ranvir looked down at the pouting girl. “Please? For mama?”

Ella turned to face Giovanni, who tried to feed her again, but this time she opened her mouth for him. 

“Good girl,” Ranvir praised before running upstairs to shower.

Finally, after Mariella had finished eating and throwing her cereal around, Giovanni cleaned the kitchen up as well as himself and her. Giovanni began brewing some coffee and made Ella a sippy cup of very dilute juice, which almost immediately got thrown on the floor. Luckily, Ranvir had learnt from experience and brought the kind of sippy cups which wouldn’t spill all over the floor when dropped.

When Ranvir came back downstairs in the fluffy burgundy robe she’d stolen from Strictly while brushing her recently dried hair, Ella was occupied with her large pile of teddy bears on the living room floor. Almost instinctively, Giovanni gravitated toward Ranvir and took the hairbrush off her and began brushing her hair but not before pressing a gentle kiss to her butterfly and martini glass tattoo on the inside of her wrist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranvir's exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to apologise in advance for this.

Ranvir quickly glanced around to check whether she was definitely alone before taking one of the pills she’d been given by the doctor to combat her exhaustion. She knew she should have told Giovanni about them but she didn’t want him stressing about her. Maybe she should take a few weeks off work but… Giovanni didn’t fully understand the pressure she had been under her whole life; his family was so supportive of any choice he’d ever made. Ranvir lived with the overwhelming pressure and what she knew was slight disappointment of her family; they hadn’t agreed with her decision not to get back with her ex-husband and not drag her son back into a very toxic environment, they weren’t happy that she’d had another child without even being engaged and still not being married. Ranvir felt like she couldn’t have any time off; she didn’t want to further disappoint her family and get told that they were right all along and she needed a man to support her. 

Rubbing her eyes to clear the haze of sleep and yawning, Ranvir climbed out of bed and slipped on her robe before heading downstairs to join the chaos that breakfast had become. She wasn’t presenting GMB today so she’d decided to have a lie-in for once in her life, a decision that was highly encouraged by Gio last night, however she did have a morning full of meetings for the new show ITV wanted her to present. Ever since her stint on Strictly two years ago, her popularity had soared and ITV had upped her screentime, and salary, by quite a high amount but the selling point for Ranvir to agree was her ability to organise her own hours meaning that she could opt out of doing long hours during school holidays in order to make the most of her time with her children. It was the first time in a while Ranvir was able to live without the ever-present mum guilt she’d suffered with since the birth of Tushaan ten years ago now. On top of that, her and Giovanni were meant to appear on the Christmas special of Strictly this year; something she was rather looking forwards to. 

“Ella, the cereal stays in the bowl.”

Ranvir could hear Tushaan’s amused tone from halfway down the stairs. She sighed contentedly in the doorway which could the attention of all three occupants of the kitchen. Tushaan looked over at his mum as if she was his saviour; Ranvir couldn’t help but laugh at the cereal-covered ten year old. Mariella clapped her filthy hands, spraying more mushy cereal and milk over herself, her highchair and her brother. 

“Okay. That’s enough baby girl,” Ranvir said as she walked over to them both, grabbing a baby wipe and capturing Ella’s waving hands before wiping them down. 

“Do you want to go and have a quick shower before breakfast, sweetie?” Ranvir now asked Tushaan.

He nodded emphatically and ran upstairs to get out of the messy pajamas. Since it was half term, Tushaan had been more than willing to help his parents out with Ella with whatever he could. Ranvir silently thanked whatever deity existed for her little family who supported her no matter what, especially her boys. By this point, she’d finished wiping Ella down as Giovanni came in from doing whatever godforsaken workout he does in a morning. 

“Morning Princess!” Giovanni beamed as he walked in. “Ah, Butterfly’s making messes again,” he smiled as he clocked the pile of baby wipes and the cereal-milk hybrid mess down Ella’s front.

“DADA!” Ella squirmed and shouted excitedly.

Giovanni laughed and kissed her on her head before pulling back and coughing slightly. “How is it in your hair, Butterfly?”

Ranvir cackled and began making Ella a bottle up instead of attempting to feed her more cereal, “I think little madam will be having a bath after her bottle and then I’ll have to get ready to go.”

After Mariella’s bottle was heated up slightly, she refused to drink cold milk, Ranvir passed the excited baby the bottle.

“It goes in your mouth not the floor, child,” Ranvir warned.

Ella nodded as if she understand and began to drink the bottle, while Gio looked on with an astounded look on his face before reaching for Ranvir’s waist and pulling her close.

“You’re wonderful with her, Princess,” he whispered before kissing her sweetly.

Ranvir smiled into his gentle kiss before they were disturbed by the sound of a bottle hitting the floor; luckily it was all but empty. 

“Okay little madam. It’s bathtime,” Giovanni smiled and he leant down and lifted her out of her highchair as Ranvir left to get ready for her meetings.

Before going to her and Giovanni’s bedroom, she knocked gently on Tushaan’s door before walking in.

“Hi mum,” Tushaan was sat on his bed drying his hair with a towl.

“Did you eat before getting covered?” Ranvir questioned concernedly.

“Yes, mum. But it’s not me we need to worry about,” Tushaan replied. Ranvir looked at him confused but he cut her off before she could open her mouth, “Mum, you’re exhausted. You’ve got really bad dark circles and you slept through Ella’s crying this morning. You never do that. I’m worried about you.”

Ranvir smiled softly at Tushaan’s concern before wrapping him in a tight hug, “If it worries you then I’ll let the producers know I’m taking a couple of weeks off. But we don’t tell dad, kid. If he asks, I just wanted to spend time with you guys. Okay?”

Tushaan felt bad about lying to his dad but he understood where Ranvir was coming from and nodded in affirmation. 

Ranvir placed a gentle kiss on his head before going to get ready for her meetings. When she walked into her bedroom, she was greeted by a soaked Giovanni holding a babbling girl wrapped in a towel. Rolling her eyes affectionately at the two of them, she walked into their wardrobe to get changed.

Around half an hour later, things had calmed down from the early morning chaos and Ranvir was ready to leave. Before going she walked into the living room, kissed Giovanni gently muttering a goodbye against his lips, warned Tushaan to finish his homework and told Mariella to behave for her daddy.

Grabbing her keys she headed out the door. Everything was fine until she got just outside London and a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her. She reached one hand up to run through her hair. As she did this, she lost control of the car which spun off the road. The sound of shattered glass and crushing metal floated over to Ranvir’s ears but the sound was muffled as if she was underwater.

Then her world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It will get better I promise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Giovanni gets the news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am even more apologetic for this one.

The phone slipped out of Giovanni’s hand and his eyes filled with tears as Kai looked over worriedly.

“Gio? What’s wrong?” Concern was clearly laced through Kai’s tone.

Choking back tears, Gio replied in broken English, “I...it’s Ranvi. She… crash… hospital…”

Kai instantly pulled Gio into a tight hug after checking that the kids hadn’t snuck into the kitchen, following their father. Gio sobbed hopelessly on Kai shoulder for a minute or two before steeling himself and wiping his eyes. 

“Will you… Will you watch the kids for me? I have to go. I’ll text you when it’s okay for them to come. The doctor said over the phone that she should be okay but she’s still unconscious and I don’t want them seeing her like that,” Gio pleaded with Kai.

“Gio, man, you didn’t even need to ask. Of course I will. Do you want to tell them? Or shall I?” Kai instantly responded.

“I think Ella doesn’t need to know yet. She thinks mummy’s at work and she is only 1. She won’t understand it fully yet. I’ll tell T before I leave and we’ll tell Ella before she sees Ranvi.”

“Tell me what? Dad?” Tushaan had appeared at the door. “What happened to mum?”

Kai quickly slipped out of the room to go and play with Mariella, knowing that they needed to be alone for this particular conversation.

“Come here, little man,” Gio patted the chair next to him and Tushaan hesitantly sat down. “Mum’s okay but she got in a car crash.”

Tushaan’s face dropped as he wrapped his arms around Gio and buried his face in Gio’s neck, “I told her she was exhausted. Before she left…”

Giovanni rubbed Tushaan’s back gently until the 10 year old pulled away. 

“Hey, little man. Mum’s tough. She’s gonna be okay; the doctor said so but I need to go with her. Can you stay with your little sister and uncle Kai for me?”

Tushaan nodded, “But you have to promise me the second she’s okay for visitors I can come and see her.”

“Of course, T. I would never stop you,” Giovanni promised before kissing his head and grabbing his keys.

The drive to the hospital was unbearably long. The doctor’s words kept ringing in his ears: “Ranvir was in a severe car accident… she’s unconscious… should be okay… you need to come here.” Giovanni took a deep breath and concentrated on the amount of strength he knew was inside Ranvir and prayed to whatever deity was listening that he wouldn’t lose her before he’d even married her. 

How he’d ended up in Ranvir hospital room, Gio didn’t know. He vaguely remembered a nurse leading him there but now he was faced by the doctor he had spoken to on the phone just outside the door of Ranvir’s room.

“Mr. Pernice?” the doctor questioned.

Giovanni nodded, unable to find his voice.

“Ranvir is stable, however, we had to operate. She gained a rather severe and deep gash to her hip which we later found had glass lodged inside. This did lead her to lose a lot of blood but we gave her a transfusion and she seems to be responded well. Other than that, Ms. Singh was incredibly lucky…” the doctor continued but Gio’s brain lingered on the word lucky. How on earth could this man say Ranvir was lucky. “We are expected her to wake up in an hour or two. There’s a call button by her bed so if there’s any change in her, such as any kind of major response or she wakes up, just press it and I’ll be there quickly.”

Giovanni nodded and walked into the hospital room. He felt like the air had been knocked out of him. His eyes welled up with tears as he sat on the chair next to Ranvir’s hospital bed and gently took the nearest hand to him; luckily this wasn’t the one connected to an IV. For the first time in a while, Gio noticed how small and delicate she truly looked; her hands were tiny compared to his. He smiled a little as he remembered their first meeting two years ago when he’d first taken her hand in the Italian Gardens at Stonor House and pulled her tightly against him. He’d noticed how small her hands were then and again when he’d slipped that engagement ring onto her finger 8 months ago now. He bent his head and gently kissed her hand. 

Giovanni almost fell back as he remembered the last time they were in this hospital. It had been one of the happiest days of his life when his little girl had been born. He was still to this day amazed by Ranvir’s strength; he’d been impressed during Strictly but this was a whole other level. He knew from things he’d read and warnings from Gorka that Ranvir was going to be in absolute agony but her screams still pained him. But he’d give anything to go back to that day now; he’d rather she was screaming but awake and perfectly well rather than lying in a hospital bed lifeless. Giovanni had been so terrified he’d lose her then but that fear did not compare to how he felt now; the gentle beep of the heart rate monitor was the only thing giving him complete reassurance that Ranvir was still here and alive. 

Gripping her hand as tightly as he dared, he whispered, “Princess, please. You can’t go. You promised me forever, remember? I haven’t even married you yet; don’t leave me before I’ve seen you walk down an aisle in the prettiest white dress.” By this point he had completely broken down into tears. “Please, Princess. I’ll do anything you want: bring you coffee all the time, handle all T’s maths homework, deal with Ella when she won’t go down for a nap. You won’t have to do anything ever again. Just don’t go.”

Giovanni gently rested his head on Ranvir’s stomach and sobbed quietly, muttering please repeatedly. He didn’t know how long he was lay there but he felt a hand gently run its fingers through his hair.

“All the maths homework, huh?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranvir wakes up

Giovanni’s head jolted up as he heard the very familiar voice. His eyes immediately found the dark brown of Ranvir’s looking down at him. Unable to control himself, he leant forward and kissed her deeply, pouring every ounce of pain he’d felt in the past two hours into it. Ranvir gasped slightly but responded in turn. When they broke apart for air, Ranvir noticed how red and swollen Gio’s eyes were and she felt awful; she never meant to cause him any kind of pain. She hated it when he cried. Ranvir remembered the first time she’d ever seen him cry and the shock she felt in her heart hadn’t eased the more she’d seen it. Gently placing her palm onto his cheek and pulled into a gentle kiss while she gently stroked her thumb across his cheek.

“I am so so sorry,” Gio whispered against her lips.

Ranvir pulled back as if she’d been burned, “Sorry? What are you sorry for?”

“Not realising how exhausted you were when even your son noticed,” Gio looked down at their joined hands.

“OUR son, Giovanni. Just because I gave birth to him doesn’t mean he’s any less yours. And he’s known me get this exhausted before. You know its not the first time I’ve crashed. Granted the first one was only a minor concussion,” Ranvir stroked the back of his hand comfortingly while talking.

Gio sat on the edge of Ranvir’s hospital bed and in response she pulls him down so she can cuddle into him. Holding her as tightly as he dared, the doctor’s point about her hip ringing through his head, Giovanni ran his fingers through her hair as method of comforting both her and himself. A soft knock at the door startled them both.

“Ms. Singh, it’s good to see you awake,” the doctor reentered the room as Giovanni looked sheepish, knowing he should have alerted them but he’d just wanted some time with his princess. “How’s the hip feeling?”

Ranvir winced slightly as she sat up, “Hurts a bit but nothing unbearable.”

Giovanni rolled his eyes at her attempts to be brave but bit his tongue, knowing she just wanted to go home. Ranvir had always hated hospitals and hopefully they wouldn’t have to stay the night; it would be such a nice surprise for Tushaan if she came home today. 

The doctor gently pulled the blanket down a little, “Can I see it? It needs to be cleaned and redressed. Mr. Pernice if you’re willing to learn, and provided there’s been no more bleeding and Ms. Singh’s vitals are satisfactory, you should be able to take her home in an hour or two. However, strict bedrest for at least a week and if you don’t feel like that’s a possibility you’ll have to stay here.”

Ranvir emphatically shook her head making both the doctor and Gio laugh.

“You’ll have to forgive her. She doesn’t like hospitals and don’t worry she will most definitely be staying in bed for a long time. Hell, I’m going to wrap her in bubble wrap from now on,” Giovanni replied for them both.

About half an hour later, Ranvir was sat scrolling through her twitter feed while Giovanni lay cradling her head against his chest, stroking her hair. Ranvir’s vitals were looking perfect, apart from her normal low blood pressure, and luckily she hadn’t bled anymore. He’d actually stepped backward when he saw the deep gash across his Princess’ perfect hip; at that exact moment, he’d decided that he was going to kiss it better (over the bandage for the first few days) every morning and night. A soft sigh from Ranvir pulled him back to the present; dropping a glance at her phone he noted yet another article about her crash and this time the bloody Express had decided to paint it as a sign of negativity in their relationship. Whoever was writing these articles he was going to physically hurt one day and then maybe they’d stop painting her as the lucky one and realise that this woman was a deity herself and deserved to be worshiped. 

Giovanni let out a slight laugh when Ranvir continued scrolling through her mentions and he noticed one tweet telling him to wrap her in bubble wrap, “This is a very tempting idea,” he muttered into her hair.

She smiled up at him, “Giovanni, my darling. I promise you no more putting my life in danger. I’ll tell you immediately if I feel exhausted or if anything is wrong.”

Gio kissed her head, “You’d better, Princess.”

Ranvir nodded, “There is something, however…”

He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her.

“I’ve had a severe lack of kisses since being awake,” Ranvir pouted.

Smirking, Giovanni leant down and kissed her pout away, “Well I guess I’ll just have to rectify that then.”

He gently tilted her chin up with his hand and gently pressed his lips to hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some general fluff because I think we're all in desperate need of it today. I do intend to carry on with this fic and any others because in the words of Nick Fury: "I recognise the council (being whatever crack G was taking with that article) has made a decision but given that it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some morning domestic fluff

The next day Ranvir woke in agony but thankfully in her own bed. She bit her lip in an attempt to silence her cries of pain so as not to wake the sleeping Italian beside her. Naturally, it didn’t work and Giovanni sat up, looking concernedly over at Ranvir as she was clutching her hip. He gently pulled her into him and stroked her hair, gently removing her hand to check for further bleeding. He thanked his lucky stars that it hadn’t reopened. 

“Princess? Will you let me change the bandage and clean it please?” Gio questioned gently.

Ranvir nodded. She winced slightly as Gio gently pulled the bandage of her hip. His eyes welled up with tears slightly as he looked down at the red, angry gash across her hip. He grabbed an anti-bacterial wipe from the side of the bed and began to gently dab at the wound. She flinched and whimpered as the wipe stung her a little but Gio kept kissing her hair and muttering soothingly in Italian until he was finished and had rebandaged the gash. Gio passed her some painkillers and watched as she took them. 

“What time is it?” Ranvir’s voice came out hoarse and quiet. 

“4:30 am, Princess,” Gio gently rubbed her back.

“Oh, that means Ella will be up in a minute. Can you go grab her? I’m not allowed to move to much, or bend.”

“Of course, my darling,” Gio pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead before leaving to go and grab Ella from her room.

Ranvir heard light footsteps down the hall a couple of minutes after Giovanni had left and soon after a small knock at the door preceded the ever-growing silhouette of Tushaan in the doorway. 

“Hi baby. You should be asleep,” Ranvir gently tapped the edge of the bed.

“I couldn’t sleep, mumma,” Tushaan’s sleepy voice came as he padded over to sit next to his mum on her bed.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her undamaged side and gently kissed his head. He snuggled closer to her and his breathing slowly levelled out as he began to drift off to sleep, his head on Ranvir’s shoulder. Smiling down at her little boy, she silently thanked God that he wasn’t too old to still need his mum. When Gio came back in with a very sleepy baby pressed against his chest Ranvir looked over at him.

“Suppose it’s one of those mornings where we have a communal bed then,” Gio quietly giggled as he got back into bed. 

Mariella squirmed slightly in his arms but settled back onto his chest pretty quickly. Ranvir looked over at her little family and questioned silently why she’d ever risk losing this. She remembered that she’d convinced herself she’d never have a baby and that had broken her heart. But then Tushaan had surprised her entirely; it was her pregnancy with him that gave her the strength to leave her husband’s toxic control and raised him alone. It had been rough going with her family’s opinions on her divorce and trying to balance work; Lord knows she struggled with a ton of mum guilt but luckily things had worked out in the end. Then Giovanni had waltzed, literally, into her life and flipped it on its head. He’d made her believe that she wasn’t worthless and that a man could want her. He’d changed her entire outlook on life and reassured her through every shitty tabloid headline and pr stunt. And of course, he’d given her Mariella. Their little baby girl fully completed Ranvir’s existence. She was an absolute ray of sunshine even on her darkest days; they all were.

Looking over at her now sleeping fiance, Ranvir smiled. She could hardly believe she’d nearly missed out on marrying this man. She vowed she’d never make that mistake again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one was so short. Had quite a few essays that were desperate to be written. Next one will be longer I promise :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just, I'm sorry again

It had been a week since Ranvir’s accident and she was healing incredibly well. She was finally able to do minor things around the house but Giovanni was still doing the bulk of the work. She felt terrible about it but there really wasn’t much she could do, other than keeping Mariella entertained so Gio was able to go about his day pretty much undisturbed. Today, however, Giovanni had decided that they were long overdue some alone time and so was dropping the children off at Aljaz and Janette’s for the night before going shopping so they’d have to day free to cuddle up on the sofa, watching Netflix all evening. 

After his morning routine of gently cleaning and changing the bandage on the still rather red gash across Ranvir’s hip, Gio jumped in the shower while Ranvir went to wake their kids up and sort breakfast out, one of the few things he allowed her to do. She gently knocked on Tushaan’s door before shouting through that she was making pancakes for breakfast, knowing he’d be out of bed much faster that way. After getting a muffled response from the ten-year-old, she smiled and opened the door to Mariella’s room.

Immediately, she was greeted by the site of Mariella holding herself up on the bars of her crib. Ranvir raised an eyebrow at the fast-growing baby who was looking rather pleased with herself. 

“Mama!”

Smiling as she walked over to her, Ranvir gently lifted the little girl out of her crib and rested her on her uninjured hip. “Hi baby! We hungry this morning?”

Ella clapped in response before clutching at her mother’s loose dark curls. Playing with them for a moment, she had a very similar expression to Gio as Ranvir slowly climbed down the stairs. When Ranvir glanced down at Mariella, she saw that the baby was now chewing on her hair again. 

“Oh, Ella. You’re going to start teething aren’t you?”

Placing Mariella into her highchair and beginning to heat up a bottle for her, Ranvir reminisced on Tushaan’s teething. Everyone warns you about the sleepless nights and the first time your baby is sick, but no one ever mentions the teething. It had to be the worst time of Ranvir’s motherhood; she’d felt so helpless as Tushaan had just screamed, barely being soothed by a teething ring and even then only momentarily. Luckily, her older sister had really pulled through and taught her to freeze the teething rings which worked like a charm. She passed the bottle to Mariella who simply pushed it away. Ranvir sighed as she lifted her from the highchair and rested her against her chest instead, picking up the bottle and began feeding her. As she stood rocking Ella gently, Ranvir once again regretted her decision to drive exhausted; ever since her accident, Mariella had refused to eat unless it was Ranvir feeding her, preferred her bottles lying against Ranvir’s chest and refused to sleep unless Ranvir sang her to sleep against her chest.

Tushaan sleepily padded into the kitchen, still in his Liverpool pajamas, and Ranvir giggled. Mariella put her arms out at her brother and Tushaan took her out of his mum’s arms and sat her on his lap. She looked up at him adoringly and he lovingly placed a kiss on her forehead, causing Ranvir’s expression to soften inexplicably before turning and starting to make a pancake batter.

“Don’t get used to this kid. Its just cause you’ve had a traumatic week,” Ranvir threw over her shoulder.

“Yeah, can you try not to die again?” Tushaan replied sarcastically.

Ranvir turned her head to the side and glared at him playfully, “Oh, I’ll try. Can’t promise anything though. It was rather fun.”

Tushaan laughed with his mum, “Seriously though. I was terrified I was going to lose you. I love dad, but I’ve only ever had you before him. Mama promise me.”

“Oh baby,” Ranvir stopped mixing the batter and walked over to press a gentle kiss on his head. “I promise you, baby boy. No more near death experiences.”

Tushaan nodded and quickly wiped the gathering tears away, “I’ll hold you to that. But at least I get pancakes.”

Ranvir laughed and went make to making breakfast as Giovanni reappeared. An hour and a half, and a very happy baby because she got to try pancakes, later both of the kids were dressed and sorted to go to their Uncle Aljaz and Aunt Janette’s.

“You behave yourselves,” Ranvir had warned before they left.

“And you behave yourself,” Tushaan had cheekily replied.

Gio had dropped the kids off with Aljaz and Janette, making them both promise to adhere to their bedtimes, and the kids too. And now he was wandering around Waitrose contemplating what snacks Ranvir would want later on. He smiled to himself as he remembered her extensive pregnancy cravings and how often he’d been running to the shop at 3am because she’d been insistent that she needed it now otherwise someone would die.

After finally finishing shopping which took a good 3 hours, because for some reason they needed to shop at 3 different places, Gio pulled into the drive and grabbed two of the bags out of the boot and opened the door.

“Ranvi? Princess?” Gio shouted when he came in. 

When he received no reply, he worried slightly but tried to convince himself that she’d just fallen asleep. Grabbing the rest of the bags and putting them in the hallway, he couldn’t shake the terrible feeling pooling in his stomach. Deciding to go and find her, he first checked upstairs but she wasn’t there. 

As he walked into the kitchen, the air was knocked out of him. His eyes filled with tears which openly fell down his cheeks as he just stared at the site which greeted him.

Ranvir was on the kitchen floor, glass broken next to her. She was deathly pale, the cut on her hip having reopened, laying in a pool of her blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise some fluff is coming


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is just pain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am once again apologising in advance for this one

I can’t live without you…

Ranvir’s final words echoed through Giovanni’s mind. He couldn’t believe what had happened in the past three days. Dropping his car keys on the side in the hallway, he moved slowly over to the doorway of the kitchen. The deep red stain splashed across the previously sparkling tiles cut deep inside of him and the guilt and blame began to resurface. 

He’d left her alone. She was injured and he’d abandoned her. Ranvir was gone and he was to blame. Gio sank down next to the stain, one of the many reminders of what he’d just lost. Hot tears began falling down his face for the millionth time that week, bouncing of the blood stain. Blinding reaching into the cupboard next to him, he pulled out the bottle of bleach, gloves and a cloth. He needed to get rid of it before the kids came home; the cloth dropped out of his hand at the though of the kids.

He’d promised them mummy would be fine. But mummy wasn’t fine. Mummy wasn’t here.

Filling the bowl up with boiling hot water and pouring the bleach into it, Giovanni pulled on the gloves and dipped the cloth into the water-bleach mixture. Scrubbing furiously at the floor as if he was trying to erase the pain of loss, as if he could make the past vanish and take it back to when he was wiping blood of the floor of a dance studio when she’d cut her leg in rehearsals. It was a strange cylicial structure to his relationship to Ranvir; wiping blood from a floor.

Allowing himself to get lost in his memory, Giovanni found himself on the floor of the dance studio once more. He’d looked down during the quickstep and noticed the red trickle down her leg and instantly stopped the music; Ranvir had stared at him in total confusion. Racking her brain, she tried to find out what she’d done wrong but everything seemed to be perfect. Starting back slightly as Gio dropped to the floor with a wipe in hand, he’d gently dapped at the blood dripping down her shin and as she gazed down at him affectionately Gio had realised for the first time in his life that he was really fucked now. While Ranvir rooted in her bag for a plaster (she carried them everywhere as she had a young boy), Gio gently swiped up the tiny spots of blood that had hit the wooden floor.

Giovanni was pulled out of his reverie and realised that he was almost eroding the tile away trying to rid the bloodstain from it. He could never have dreamt that his relationship with Ranvir could possibly end this way - with a blood stain on the kitchen floor. Taking a deep breath, Gio cast his mind back to the countless conversations they’d had over documentaries about serial killers and tried to remember through the many criticisms Ranvir had if she’d mentioned anything about blood.

“It is way harder than that to stab someone….”

“Do they not know about hair mass?”

“You have to freeze a body before putting it in a woodchipper…”

“Bleach won’t immediately remove a stain. You need to make a paste of cold water and baking soda first and leave for half an hour before using bleach…”

Smiling to himself, he pulled the gloves off and rooted through the cupboards for the baking soda. Part of him felt as though he should be concerned about the amount of knowledge Ranvir had about these things but for some reason she’d given off such a calming vibe he could never see her murdering anyone. Although he did not doubt she’d be able to do it; God knows she’s threatened to kill Piers in great detail often enough. 

“Giovanni…”

His head snapped around aggressively as he was convinced he’d heard Ranvir’s voice.

“Giovanni!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally found her motivation again


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have some domestic fluff :)

“Giovanni!”

Awaking with a start, the first thing Gio noticed was the hot tears dripping down his cheeks. Frantically remembering his nightmare, he blindly fumbled for the lamp switch next to the bed. When he finally found it, a dim yellow light flooded the room causing a very concerned Ranvir to squint. Reaching up, he gently ran a hand across her flushed cheek.

“You’re alive,” Gio’s voice cracked slightly.

Confusion flashed across Ranvir’s face, “Baby, what are you talking about? I’m fine; it’s been five days since the cut reopened and I was fine darling. I’m here.”

Leaning over, Giovanni pulled her close and began whispering into her hair, “You were dead. I found you too late and you’d bled out. I was… You left me and I was trying to clean up blood stains…”

Deciding to find the comedic relief in the situation, Ranvir looked up at him and smiled, “Baking soda and cold water, yes.”

Giggling softly, Gio replied, “I remembered eventually.”

Ranvir smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to his jawline, “That’s my baby. Now get some sleep. Happy sleep this time my darling. I’m right here.”

Wrapping his arms tightly around Ranvir’s waist, he settled down into his pillows comforted by the gentle weight of Ranvir’s head cushioned on his chest. He took one last look down at her, pressed a kiss to the top of her head and mumbled “I love you” before falling asleep.

When Ranvir’s alarm went off at 7:30 ready to get Tushaan ready for school, she rolled over sleepily and turned it off. Looking over at Gio, she smiled to herself and another surge of guilt washed over her; she hated the way this crash had impacted her entire family. Muttering an apology to her future husband and pressing a kiss to his cheek, she quietly got out of bed and left the room. 

Half an hour later, Gio padded downstairs and into the kitchen where he absentmindedly checked for the stain he’d been cleaning mere hours ago in his mind. Catching his eye, Ranvir subtly shook her head, reminding him that it was just a dream and it was over now. He walked over to where their children were sat at the table, Tushaan happily eating pancakes yet again and Mariella splashing mushy cereal everywhere. 

“Pancakes again?” Gio cocked his eyebrow at Ranvir. “And you call me the soft one.”

“Oh, hush you. Or do you not want yours?” Ranvir teased.

“No! Gimmie! Please!” Gio pouted at Ranvir, making her expression soften inexplicably as she placed a plate of banana pancakes in front of him and kissed his head.

“Ella. The cereal is meant to go in your mouth. Not on your face, hair, hands and my nice clean walls,” Ranvir gently scolded their little girl before wiping her hands over with a baby wipe as she tried to squirm away.

“Mama!” Ella continued to babble away to her mother, clearly pleased with whatever responses Ranvir was giving.

Both Giovanni and Tushaan watched Ranvir in complete awe. Tushaan hadn’t seen his mum this happy and well-rested for such a prolonged period for… well ever. He cast his mind back to the conversation he’d had with his dad a few days ago; they wanted to talk to Ranvir about maybe dropping out of GMB and instead taking the more permanent role offered to her by the evening news. Tushaan subconsciously understood that Ranvir wasn’t going to drop her job yet; she hated missing bedtimes with them both. Giovanni couldn’t believe how lucky he’d gotten with Ranvir; she was the perfect friend, perfect mother and he had no doubt she’d be the perfect wife when they finally got married (she wanted to wait until she was fully healed before they discussed the wedding dates). 

Noticing both of the boys staring at her, Ranvir glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes as they both attempted to act like they hadn’t been gaping. Tushaan was able to excuse himself under the guise of getting ready for school but Gio just kept staring at his now empty plate. Deciding to be useful, knowing he had about half hour before he had to take Tushaan to school (Ranvir was now never allowed behind the wheel of a car again), he collected up the dirty dishes and began washing up. 

Ranvir, having finally completed the laborious task of cleaning the one-year-old, placed Mariella down on her playmat in the living room but still in clear eye line. She walked up behind Giovanni and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back. They stood like that for a while, Gio simply savouring the feeling of having Ranvir pressed gently against him and the feel of her soft kisses between his shoulder blades reminded him of how content he truly was with his life as it was.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three month time skip

Ranvir dropped her bag into the passenger seat of her car before running her fingers through her hair trying to take in what her doctor had just told her. The cut on her side had completely healed, absolutely no chance of it reopening for a second time. The reassurance of that was remarkable, although she’d been incredibly careful and it had fully closed a month ago, there was always that little nagging voice in the back of her head telling her the opposite. Well at least this voice had some new material to torture her with; she had been getting rather bored.

Placing the keys in the ignition, Ranvir silently thanked God that Giovanni was busy all morning so she was finally allowed to drive herself again. She’d been extra careful with her driving lately, even taking to wearing her glasses despite the fact that they were really only for migraine-prevention but anything to reassure Gio that she was going to be fine. 

Giovanni really had been a complete angel with her from the very beginning. After their twenty minute divorce, he’d altered his teaching style after noting that Ranvir didn’t respond well to authority figures. Her response to authority figures, particularly male ones, had been a constant strain between her and her mother; Ranvir clocked it back to the loss of her father at such a young age and her inability to allow anyone to replicate his position. It made her rebel against anything. But Gio had taken it in his stride and training had become a much more enjoyable experience with the quickstep. Week 2 was one of the more under appreciated dances of hers and yet it was the origin of so much; the biggest one being the martini and butterfly references (they’d been that important, Ranvir had decided to get a tattoo of them on the inside of her wrist). 

Remembering the panic she’d felt when she first held a positive pregnancy test in her hands and the way she’d doubted Giovanni in that moment almost made her feel ashamed. After a year together, she really should have known that his response was always going to be one of extreme joy; there was really no alternative for him. She’d been so stressed about not being able to give him the baby he’d desired for so long but he almost disregarded the want for a child of his own. Ranvir entirely believed that he would’ve loved Tushaan as his own, even without Mariella but she’d always wanted a daughter as well, especially after Kyra was born and the amount that she’d looked after her for her sister.

Pulling into the drive of her house, she smiled at the sight of both dogs in her bedroom window barking. Ranvir had brought home a Golden Retriever Cocker Spaniel crossbreed. She was only fourteen weeks old, the result of an accidental breeding from an old uni friend of Ranvir’s and Ranvir couldn’t resist her. So now they had Schmizzles and his new friend, Lola. Instinctively, Ranvir knelt down when she came through the front door and was assaulted by a barrage of kisses from both excited dogs.

“Hi sweeties!”

Standing carefully, Ranvir slipped her coat off and went into the living room where Tushaan and Aljaz were playing video games, as usual and Janette was sat on the floor with Mariella crawling happily around her. Once Ella caught sight of her mother she crawled over to her and gripped Ranvir’s leg as she shakily stood up. 

“Oh you’re so clever baby girl,” Ranvir cooed as she leant down to lift Ella up onto her hip. 

“Everything go okay?” Janette walked with Ranvir into the kitchen looking rather concerned. 

“Everything’s fine, sweetie. More than fine actually,” Ranvir replied as she filled the kettle, knowing Gio would be home in a couple of minutes.

Janette took over making the tea since Ranvir had a baby on her hip, “Have you decided when you’re getting married yet?”

“Actually in two months. Gio was meant to have told you earlier but he’s been occupied with the opening of his new dance studio. He’s decided to stop touring now and instead teach in his months off from Strictly.”

“Well that always did suit him more. Man loves performing but he wanted to settle down eventually and now he can. But anyway the most important thing is when are we going wedding dress shopping?”

Ranvir laughed at Janette’s priorities, “Next week at some point, probably. Obviously we’ll need to coordinate things with Maisie and Clara’s work schedules. Suppose that’s the benefit of working early mornings: Susanna, Laura and Kate are always free during the day.”

Janette nodded, “Still couldn’t pay me to work your hours though.”

They were interrupted by the barking of two excited dogs signifying Gio’s return. Ella squirmed out of her mother’s arms and crawled through the kitchen into the hallway to meet her dad.

“DADA! HI!”

“Hi, butterfly.”

Mariella’s giggles filled the hallway as Gio picked her up and began repeatedly kissing her. 

“How come I never get that treatment when you come home?” Ranvir quipped from the kitchen threshold.

Gio simply raised a knowing eyebrow at her causing Ranvir to giggle and make her way over to him before gently kissing him.

“We need to talk later,” she whispered into his ear.

Panic briefly flooded his brain but Ranvir didn’t seem stressed or even worried in the slightest but it was very comforting when she simply pointed to the petals of the bunch of daffodils on the side. Their little colour language was very useful in situations when they weren’t alone or, in his case, unable to find the words to fully express how he felt. Yellow was happiness, how could it be anything else? Especially after how happy the quickstep dress had made him; it was one of his secret favourites. 

The next few hours were occupied with Janette grilling them on wedding plans. Aljaz rolled his eyes and muttered that he didn’t remember her being this excited about their own wedding which earned him a light slap on the arm from Janette. They’d decided to go with a burgundy, copper and grey colour scheme; slightly unusual for a late summer wedding but Ranvir loved Giovanni in dark grey and she knew that all the girls would be happy in burgundy. Ranvir had also decided that she didn’t want the girls in matching dresses, it always made her cringe when she saw it; what looked good on some people didn’t look good on others and she’d rather they were all comfortable in their dress choices particularly due to the variety in ages. And of course, they were getting married at Stonor Park.

By the time Ranvir and Giovanni were alone, after much chaos getting both kids to sleep tonight (Tushaan wanted to stay up longer since it was the start of the summer holidays and Ella needed about fifteen stories), Gio’s brain was running wild with questions of what Ranvir could possibly need to talk to him about. A new job, maybe? She wanted to go on holiday before the wedding? Even after all this time, he still could not read that woman.

Ranvir took a deep breath before sitting on the sofa next to him, nursing a mug of tea for a moment before placing it on the coffee table and turning to completely face him.

“Darling, you know how I had a doctors appointment earlier?” Ranvir hesitantly began.

“Yes? You text me and told me you were fine… Did you lie?” Gio took her hands.

“No. No. I didn’t lie, baby. But there’s something else… something very unexpected,” Ranvir was met with silence so she continued. “They ran a few tests, naturally. And something came back. Darling, I’m about 6 weeks pregnant again.”

Giovanni’s jaw just dropped, “Another baby?” His entire face lit up with a beam. “Oh you are absolute perfection, Princess. I love you so goddamn much.”

“I-” 

Ranvir’s response was muffled by Gio leaning forward and capturing her lips in a deep kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of my A-Level procrastination.


End file.
